As many as one in four SMEs across the UK will struggle to cover their payroll costs from April this year, according to a recent survey of accountancy professionals.

It is understood that incoming increases to National Insurance Contributions (NICs) will add notably to the financial challenges facing SMEs throughout the country. Those increases are being introduced as levies intended to help the government cover the costs of health and social care provisions nationally, but there are some clear indications that many businesses will feel the financial impact.

Research into the issue has been conducted jointly by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and the Corporate Finance Network (CFN), with data being collected from accountancy professionals reflecting sentiments expressed by their clients.

The view from those professionals currently is that around 26% of SMEs will find it tough to cover their payroll costs in April and 21% might run out of money entirely within the next 12 months.

According to the figures, over a third (38%) of SMEs feel confident about their growth prospects in the next six months, but there is also widespread uncertainty about what financing options are potentially available to support cash flows.